Category Archives: Health

KTLA – Increased reports of the viral diseases dengue and chikungunya in Mexico, Latin America and the Big Island of Hawaii prompted California’s public health director to issue a warning to travelers.

WSJ – Sanofi’s dengue vaccine won regulatory approval in Mexico, paving the way for the world’s first immunization program against the mosquito-borne virus—but questions remain over how the French drugmaker will price the shot.

Sentido Comun – Ecoltec, a Holcim subsidiary that processes cement residues, plans to collect disused tires in several municipalities to prevent the spread of diseases like chikungunya and provide an alternative fuel to its parent company.

Medical – Scientists studying the 2009 A/H1N1 influenza pandemic have found that the inconsistent regional spread of pandemic waves in Mexico was the result of interactions between school breaks and regional variations in humidity.

Science 2.0 – In Mexico, breast cancer has been adequately controlled, and is no longer considered a risk of death when it’s diagnosed.A new study shows that there is a common gene variant among Hispanic women that reduces the risk of developing breast cancer.

NewsNet5 – The family of a San Diego woman who went in for weight loss surgery in Mexico and ended up in a coma is desperate for answers, and dozens more say they have been seriously injured by a doctor at the same hospital.

Mexico’s death rate from sugary drinks is alarming, but not all that surprising when you consider that the country is also the world’s biggest consumer of sodas.

By Allison Jackson / GlobalPost

Mexico is renowned for being one of the most dangerous countries in the world, so it might sound strange to hear that sugary drinks pose a bigger threat to life here than violent crime.

Sugar-sweetened beverages such as Coca-Cola, Gatorade and homemade drinks known as “agua fresca” kill far more people every year in Mexico than criminal gangs.

A study by the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University estimates a staggering 24,000 Mexicans die each year from diabetes, cancer and heart disease that are linked to sugary drinks.

Compare that figure to the roughly 15,649 murders officially recorded in 2014 and it’s clear which is the biggest killer in the Latin American country.

Out of the 20 most populous countries studied, Mexico’s death rate from sugary drinks was the highest by a long way, with an estimated 405 deaths per million adults.

Union Jalisco – The Carlos Slim Foundation (FCS) and Elizabeth Holmes, who promotes a new form of prevention to using low-cost technology, announced a nonprofit alliance to implement an innovative platform in FCS’ Casalud Model.